I have a busy day ahead of me today.
I have an appointment on the far other side of town which will eat up a big chunk of the morning. The boys have a virtual piano lesson at 2 pm (doesn’t really affect me since I can still work during that time, but I still need to remember it and make sure everyone is situated at that time).
Then, Asher needs to be downtown (and parked somewhere in advance..) by 4:45 pm. His swim team is doing a 1.2 mile swim race in Lake Monona, the same course that is used for Ironman Wisconsin. Some of the older swimmers will be doing the 2.4 mile course. (For reference, 1 mile is pretty far- it’s like 66 lengths of a regular 25 yard pool. He swam a 1 mile race last December in 25:00 minutes flat (no breaks). So it’s not a trivial swim for a 10 year old!)
Initially Asher was on the fence about if he wanted to do this or not. He doesn’t have a ton of open water swimming (i.e. lake instead of pool) experience. His team has been practicing in a lake once per week this summer, but usually in a pretty shallow part.
Lake Monona, on the other hand, is very deep. Originally he thought the course involved swimming straight out into the middle of the lake. To that he had said, “no way”. I guess that just sounded creepy. Sounds kinda creepy to me too.
Well, yesterday he learned that the course is out and back, but running parallel to the shoreline (0.6 mile down, turn around and swim back). So while it will be deep water, he won’t be far from shore technically.
He liked this idea much better and last night he suddenly decided that he REALLY wants to try it, so, I signed him up. I think it will be a fun challenge for him and hopefully he’ll feel proud of himself for conquering something new.
There will be people alongside them in kayaks and on jet skis monitoring them to make sure everyone stays safe, and he will be wearing a fluorescent green cap. I’ll report back tomorrow on how he does! 🙂
I’m forgoing my workout this morning in exchange for getting an early start on work. Bummer, but necessary today!
Here’s a few random pics from the last few days around here:
 |
| The boys have been piling in my bed to read before bed many nights lately 🙂 |
 |
| A post-morning swim, outdoor-on-the-curb breakfast date at McDonald’s yesterday with Asher. He LOVES their chicken biscuits!! |
 |
| Dinner last night. The kids had been begging me to make Cream of Zucchini soup again- they LOVE it. Made some Mexican steak strips with onion, tomato, cilantro and garbanzo beans on the side, topped with a spicy guacamole salsa verde and tortillas!
Daily Gratitude:
I’m grateful for soap. I realized yesterday- I use soap all the time. Dish soap, laundry soap, dishwasher detergent, face cleanser, bar soap… countless times a day, yet I never even think about it! But I’m really grateful for the availability of it to us (I imagine in many places in the world, soap and disinfectants are a luxury) and that it just does its job. 🙂
|
GRATEFUL KAE 
That sounds like an exciting challenge for Asher. I hope it goes well, and he has a good experience.
LikeLike
I hope the open swim goes well. My husband swims at a local lake that has a course certain times of the week. I used to be part of this swim club when I did a triathlon but I don't love swimming so I stopped doing it and he kept at it! Open water swimming in a lake is a unique experience, especially if you don't grow up swimming in lakes. A lot of people get creeped out by not knowing what is below them. The course set up he did sounded good, though! When we go to my parents lake next week, Phil will probably swim across their lake. He did that last summer. It is over a mile so takes quite awhile. We do it during the week when it's quiet and I kayak alongside of him to make sure he stays safe.
LikeLike
it's great that he's up for the challenge. I also feel super proud when my girls get out of their comfort zone, try something they thought they are afraid, conquer it and feel proud themselves!As parents, encouraging them to try uncomfortable things is really important to me, I didn't get it much when I was little, and had to face those feelings as adults.
LikeLike